Twelve

The night sky. Beautiful, unmoving, almost surreal in its appearance. The moon always shone brightly with its pale light, caring for those who slept. For many centuries it was painful reminder of Nightmare Moon. But now, with it's ruler back in the throne, the celestial body could return to it's ancient glory.

"All set Spike?"

"All set Twilight."

For centuries, scholars across the world had spent entire nights studying the stars. Stargazing had always been considered a career that was very close with the princess. The sun, the moon, the stars. They all served as a reminder of the power they commanded.

"Oh, a warm summer night under the stars. Absolutely beautiful."

"Ah' don't care much for the stars...but Ah' gotta agree with you here."

Of course, stargazing was a very enjoyable experience when properly done. Even more so while accompanied, as Twilight Sparkle knew by heart. She would often invite her friends to her night studies, and while normally they would politely decline the invitation, not being quite the readers as herself, all of them had accepted to come and enjoy the night. It was warm, so nopony worried about freezing and pleasurable company was always welcomed.

"Isn't it just amazing? It's so peaceful. No noise. No disturbance. Just tranquility."

"Ha! Thats only because Pinkie isn't here yet. Where is she anyways?"

Twilight slowly measured her telescope, occasionally taking a look through it, jotting down on a small scroll every now and then. She smiled as she heard her friends talk. How she loved them. And to think that she once thought friends were useless!

"Right here!"

Pinkie was behind Rainbow Dash, a small basket n her back. How she got there, nopony knew, but they didn't thought much of it. As Twilight had shown earlier, trying to understand Pinkie Pie would usually imply severe physical trauma.

"Sorry for being late. I had to prepare some cupcakes! I knew you girls would get hungry, so I brought a treat! I always bring cupcakes, so maybe its not much of a treat, but they're still delicious! Like pies! I love pies. Do you love pies?"

Her demeanor, bordering insanity for some, was usual for the rest of the girls. The cupcakes were welcomed, even if they were nearly the only food that Pinkie ate. After all, a cupcake was just a cupcake. But a cupcake made by Pinkie Pie? Nopony could resist that.

"So Twilight. Is there a special reason for this study of the stars, or is it just plain curiosity?" Rarity asked before taking a bite of a cupcake. Applejack messily devoured one besides her.

"The princess asked me to." Twilight answered, not really paying attention.

"Yes dear, I am sure of that, but what I mean is-"

"What she means is why are we here and not sleeping? Some of us have to get up early tomorrow." Dash asked, interrupting Rarity. Rainbow loved being with her friends. But she loved sleeping too.

"Rainbow, you never get up early." Applejack said.

"Well...I could!" Dash replied.

"I'm not sure really. Princess Celestia said that something was rather strange about the sky, so she asked if I could investigate."

"Strange how? Did a star explode? Can they explode?! Is the sun gonna explode?!" Pinkie Pie asked frantically.

"No Pinkie. Something about the stars feeling...off. She didn't specify really." Twilight answered. She would have liked if her mentor had been a little more specific about the subject. It wouldn't be the first time that Princess Celestia would hide information from her. It bothered her at times, but it was always for the good of her kingdom, so she couldn't really blame here.

"Oh, I hope it's nothing bad. They look so peaceful up there." Fluttershy said.

"It's probably nothing. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? That the sun and the moon froze in place?" Twilight joked. Spike chomped down on a ruby that rarity had given him. He wasn't really concerned about the sky. There was probably nothing wrong with it, and even if there actually was something wrong, Twilight would fix it, like she always did!

"Sure have been a lot of comets lately..." Twilight commented as she saw one through the telescope.

"You're worried one of them will hit us?" Applejack asked.

"Not at all. There's no comet or asteroid big enough to actually cause any damage. And even if there was one, it would have to be so far away that nothing on the planet could see it." Twilight explained.

"Well, thats a relief. We don't gotta worry about getting squashed by a giant rock." Dash said.

"Wait a minute..."

Twilight peered through the telescope. There was a particular star on the sky. Shiny, big and...getting bigger?

"Girls...you come and see this." she said as she stared.

"No need to...we can see it from here..." Applejack said. Twilight immediately looked at the sky with her eyes. All of her friends were staring upwards. There was a star getting bigger. But now that they could see it better, they realized a couple of things:

One. It wasn't a star. It was a ball of fire.

Two. It wasn't getting bigger. It was getting closer.

Three. It was going to fall right were they were standing. Probably in a couple minutes.

"Everypony run!" Twilight yelled as she lifted Spike with magic and jumped from the spot. Dash and Fluttershy took the sky while the rest ran away with Twilight. Before long, the giant ball of fire impacted the small hill where they were having the picnic, crushing everything in it's path, messily bouncing a couple more times, finally stopping after leaving a deep trail on the ground. Patches of burning grass surrounded it, while vapor and smoke trailed from the ground where it had crossed. The fire slowly died out, revealing the comet for all its glory.

"Is...is it over?" Fluttershy squeaked as she hid behind Rainbow Dash, who was trying to shake her off.

Twilight hesitated for a few seconds before slowly approaching the meteor, putting out the remaining burning grass in the process. Jumping into the caved trail, Twilight inspected the fallen star. To her surprise, the comet wasn't very rocky. It was of an oval shape, with some symmetrical lines around it. A smaller oval section stood out. While it was obviously roughed up from the fall, it was very smooth on the surface, with only a few scratches and bumps on it.

"Girls...this isn't a comet..."

Hearing the voice of Twilight, all of them peeked over the edge of the trail. The vapor was almost gone now, and there was no sign of danger. Spike promptly joined Twilight, jumping on her back.

"Is it dangerous?" he asked. Twilight poked it with a hoof, a metallic sound echoing.

"I don't think so. But whatever it is, its hollow. To some extent at least." she answered. Suddenly, the small oval section fizzled as smoke started to shoot from below it. Twilight quickly teleported out along with Spike. The oval section slowly detached itself from the rest of the fallen comet before falling on the ground. All six mares and dragon stared in awe and fear at the dark hole that remained. A bluish hoof appeared, grabbing an edge, soon followed by another, dragging the occupant out.

"It cant be..." Twilight whispered.

A mare climbed from the comet, now revealed to be a ship, and fell to the ground. Her coat was a pale cyan, similar to Rainbow Dash, and her mane and tail were gray. Slowly and visibly shaking, she stood up, slowly opening her eyes. To everypony's surprise, her eyes shone. As if glowing molten gold had been poured into them, the result being two beautiful orbs of light. The mare gave a couple of unsure steps forwards before stumbling again. This time, she didn't stand up.

"Is that...an alien?" Spike asked.

"Wow. This is like Daring Do and the Crystal Hoof!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

"I think she's hurt..." Fluttershy said as she landed besides the fallen mare.

"Be careful Shy'! Who knows what she's planning!" Applejack warned. But Fluttershy ignored her. In front here was a hurt mare. Alien or no alien, she wasn't about to leave her out here. Carefully lifting her, she dragged her out of the trench, gently laying her on the grass. She was quickly surrounded by her friends, who had to be pushed back as to give some space. She was breathing slowly, though injuries could be seen.

"She must have been knocked around a little during the crash..." Rarity said. The mare's cutie mark was a mystery. It was a small circle with a twisted line coming from it. What it meant was unknown. It would nearly a minute of silence before Applejack asked what was on the minds of everypony.

"Okay, we have a visitor from the stars having a beauty sleep here...what now?"

Twilight put a hoof on her chin, deep in thought. It was too late to send a letter to the princess, and alerting the authorities would only cause problems. With no information, no data and no background, any decision could potentially lead to disaster. She gave a glance to her friends, then back at the mare.

"Fluttershy, you and Rainbow Dash are going to take her to your cottage. Make sure she's okay." Twilight instructed. Both pegasi nodded before gently lifting the alien, carrying her away.

"Applejack, we're near your home. Bring some shovels here tomorrow."

"Will do." Applejack agreed before trotting away.

"Rarity, Pinkie Pie..."

"Yes darling?"

"Whattup?"

"Mmm...nothing for now...But I think we will need your help tomorrow, so please try to make space for this." Twilight asked.

"Oki-doki-loky!" Pinkie agreed before skipping away, before being followed by Rarity.

"What about us, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"We, Spike...we've got a long night ahead of us..." Twilight answered as she teleported them to the library, immediately levitating books around her.

"Now, please bring me everything we have on astronomy."